Roadway repair and maintenance are a ubiquitous problem that impose financial obligations on roadway authorities and present annoyances, if not costly hazards, to motorists. Asphalt surfaces, such as roads, driveways and parking lots, may suffer damage through a combination of infiltrating water and the continuous flow of moving vehicles. For example, potholes are a recurring problem creating inevitable damage to roadway surfaces from traffic, construction, and the environment. The enormous number and variety of paved roads makes it difficult for federal, state, and local municipalities to implement repairs in a timely, cost effective and safe manner.
Conventionally, repairing damaged roadways is done on an ad hoc basis resulting in inefficiencies and varying effectiveness. For example, repair of asphalt surfaces is typically done by removing a damaged section (e.g. a section surrounding a pothole) and re-laying the section with fresh asphalt or simply patching the area with an asphalt compound. Based on the repair capabilities and the experience of the repair crew, ambient grade temperature, asphalt repair material and the effectiveness of the repair equipment, the resulting roadway repair will vary in quality and effectiveness.
Effective and efficient repair of asphalt roadway surfaces requires control of several variables based on the characteristics of the targeted repair site, ambient conditions, capabilities of the repair device and crew and operational requirements. Currently, asphalt repair is performed through application of heat to a targeted area of repair. The resulting softened area (i.e. an area with decreased hardness) is then better able to receive and adhere to replacement or supplement asphalt applied to the area. However, effective softening of the targeted area requires applying heat in a deliberate and controlled fashion adapted to the composition of the asphalt involved, the outside ambient temperature, the temperature of the targeted repair area, and the degree of softening of the targeted area achieved. If the targeted area is improperly heated or softened, the replacement asphalt will not adhere to the repair area and/or seam lines may result. Seam lines are problematic because they reflect a discontinuity between the repair and the asphalt roadway and commonly result in uneven pavement and pothole formation.
In current practice, the heat required to soften a targeted asphalt area is a manual iterative process, in which a road crew member measures softness by driving a shovel into the asphalt to evaluate pliability. Such a process widely varies in accuracy based on, for example, the skills of the crew member and the location and frequency of the shovel-measurement. Measurements taken in only one location, for example, will likely not represent the overall area to be repaired. A more effective repair will use multiple measurements of temperature and softness from several locations within the repair site during the course of the repair.
Furthermore, the current asphalt repair process is energy and time inefficient. The heat source is manually positioned and oriented relative to the targeted repair site, and heat applied to bring the repair area to within a targeted temperature and softness range. Generally, an efficient asphalt repair process will minimize the time required to bring the material up to a required temperature and softness level while avoiding overheating. If a maximum temperature is exceeded (for example, approximately 375 deg. F.), volatile oils burn off and the repair surface may be compromised. However, if the temperature is increased too slowly, more energy is consumed and crew on-site costs will increase.
Thus, there is a long-felt need for a system and method for provides a system and method for controlling an asphalt repair apparatus, as provided in the present invention. An additional aspect of the present invention is to provide a system that may position a heater repair element adjacent a targeted asphalt surface, acquire and analyze surface and heater sensing data, and control heater output to prepare the targeted asphalt surface for repair. Further, the system may be configured to control an asphalt repair apparatus to satisfy user-defined asphalt repair requirements. The system and method provides several benefits, to include providing a more effective and efficient repair of asphalt roadways thereby yielding a more cost and time effective utilization of material, labor, and equipment. Repaired roadways will be more robust and less prone to future damage.